WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.380 Thank you very much. 00:00:01.780 --> 00:00:04.799 Why don't we pray before we look at this passage together. 00:00:05.759 --> 00:00:07.540 Father God, we need your help. 00:00:07.960 --> 00:00:13.580 Please, by your Holy Spirit, would you speak to us now through the teacher's wisdom. 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:17.879 Father, please, would you help us to see ourselves rightly? 00:00:18.839 --> 00:00:20.740 Help us to see you rightly. 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:24.679 Father, we pray that as we look at this passage of Scripture just now, 00:00:24.679 --> 00:00:30.679 that we would see Jesus in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 00:00:31.660 --> 00:00:34.780 We pray this in his name. Amen. 00:00:36.320 --> 00:00:40.879 Well, like I said, the teacher in Ecclesiastes, I hope this morning, 00:00:41.019 --> 00:00:46.100 will humble us by getting us to think about ourselves and our finite nature. 00:00:46.460 --> 00:00:50.760 And he always does that to get us to trust God, to fear God. 00:00:50.759 --> 00:00:57.219 In fact, a helpful summary of the entire book of Ecclesiastes that I use is by a guy called Von Roberts. 00:00:57.879 --> 00:00:59.299 And he sums it up like this. 00:00:59.500 --> 00:01:02.339 Face facts and fear God. 00:01:02.679 --> 00:01:04.379 That's what the entire book is about. 00:01:04.719 --> 00:01:07.019 Face facts and fear God. 00:01:07.640 --> 00:01:11.159 And so this morning, we're going to think about something that's very humbling. 00:01:11.879 --> 00:01:14.479 Something probably that we don't think about that often. 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:16.359 We're going to think about time. 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:19.859 That's what the teacher wants to talk about. 00:01:19.859 --> 00:01:21.840 He wants to talk about time. 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:26.819 So by way of introduction, I'm going to read to you lyrics from a song. 00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:31.959 It's not the one by the birds, if you know that, if there's a few grey-haired hippies here. 00:01:32.980 --> 00:01:33.719 Yeah, good. 00:01:35.079 --> 00:01:39.700 But it's actually a one that a few of the grey-haired hippies might also recognize. 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:40.780 It's by Pink Floyd. 00:01:41.319 --> 00:01:42.659 And it's the song Time. 00:01:42.659 --> 00:01:51.140 And I think that from the album Dark Side of the Moon, if there was to be a musical accompaniment to Ecclesiastes, for me, it would be Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. 00:01:51.519 --> 00:01:54.019 And this is the lyrics to that song Time. 00:01:54.019 --> 00:01:58.859 Tired of lying in the sunshine, staying home to watch the rain. 00:01:59.340 --> 00:02:03.699 You are young and life is long, and there is time to kill today. 00:02:04.420 --> 00:02:08.259 And then one day you find ten years have got behind you. 00:02:08.579 --> 00:02:10.680 No one told you when to run. 00:02:11.139 --> 00:02:13.000 You missed the starting gun. 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:20.520 So you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking, racing around to come up behind you again. 00:02:21.099 --> 00:02:29.099 The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older, shorter of breath, and one day closer to death. 00:02:29.979 --> 00:02:36.000 Now I share that with you because that song reflects much of our thinking about this issue of time. 00:02:36.439 --> 00:02:39.340 We probably don't think about time when we're younger. 00:02:39.340 --> 00:02:45.580 It's only when we're older and perhaps when we're getting closer to death that we start to ask questions like, 00:02:46.120 --> 00:02:47.200 Where did the time go? 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:50.199 How did all that time pass me by? 00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:52.980 It feels like we've missed the starting gun. 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:59.780 And there's a frustration that comes with the fact that time seems to elude us. 00:03:00.039 --> 00:03:01.819 That time seems to evade us. 00:03:01.900 --> 00:03:04.159 That it seems to be ticking away. 00:03:04.680 --> 00:03:07.280 Not only that, time is unpredictable. 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:14.560 I mean, we try to an extent to control what our time on earth will be like. 00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:18.199 But the truth is that our control is always limited. 00:03:19.340 --> 00:03:23.240 Each of us is trying to write the story of our lives. 00:03:23.340 --> 00:03:30.960 But the passage of time and the unpredictable nature of the times that come upon us remind us of one key truth. 00:03:31.580 --> 00:03:36.240 In the story of our lives, we are not the main author. 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:38.480 As much as we'd like to be, we're not. 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:42.000 And so we don't often think about this. 00:03:42.200 --> 00:03:44.439 We don't think about the passage of time. 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:45.620 We live for now. 00:03:45.760 --> 00:03:46.540 Live for the moment. 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:48.080 Don't worry about the past. 00:03:48.219 --> 00:03:50.100 Don't fret about the future. 00:03:50.500 --> 00:03:55.860 We don't want to think about the fact that we are slowly drawing closer to death. 00:03:55.860 --> 00:04:07.220 We don't want to think about the obvious fact that the sands of time will eventually erase all that we have been working hard for in this life. 00:04:08.660 --> 00:04:10.340 That can be a depressing thought. 00:04:10.500 --> 00:04:11.820 That's why we don't think about it. 00:04:11.819 --> 00:04:17.000 But the teacher, as he does throughout Ecclesiastes, wants us to get real. 00:04:17.860 --> 00:04:20.259 Because it is real. 00:04:21.560 --> 00:04:25.639 And actually what we see in the scripture is that when we start to face that fact, 00:04:25.879 --> 00:04:32.659 it frees us to trust in the God who is good and the God who is in charge of the times that we face. 00:04:32.660 --> 00:04:36.600 So, let's be wise this morning as we think about time. 00:04:37.320 --> 00:04:39.960 I've got three things just to see from this passage. 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:43.040 Firstly, there is a pattern to time. 00:04:43.800 --> 00:04:46.220 Secondly, there's a God who governs time. 00:04:46.920 --> 00:04:50.180 And thirdly, there will be a judgment at the end of time. 00:04:50.860 --> 00:04:52.000 There's a pattern to time. 00:04:52.200 --> 00:04:53.400 There's a God who governs time. 00:04:53.780 --> 00:04:56.000 And there will be a judgment at the end of time. 00:04:56.560 --> 00:04:58.720 Firstly then, there's a pattern to time. 00:04:59.220 --> 00:05:00.580 Nothing is random. 00:05:00.820 --> 00:05:01.760 Nothing is pointless. 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:02.399 Verse 1. 00:05:02.740 --> 00:05:04.800 There is a time for everything. 00:05:05.319 --> 00:05:09.159 And a season for every activity under the heavens. 00:05:09.620 --> 00:05:15.959 And then in the poem that follows, we get a beautiful portrait of the order behind time. 00:05:16.219 --> 00:05:19.639 There is a time that God selected for each of us here to be born. 00:05:20.740 --> 00:05:23.439 And there is a time selected for us to die. 00:05:25.339 --> 00:05:30.120 And what we read of here are the various different things that can happen in our lifetime. 00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:32.720 A time to plant and a time to uproot. 00:05:32.819 --> 00:05:35.100 A time to kill and a time to heal. 00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:37.879 A time to tear down and a time to build. 00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:40.459 A time to weep and a time to laugh. 00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:43.420 A time to mourn and a time to dance. 00:05:43.420 --> 00:05:47.660 In a kind of beautifully succinct way. 00:05:47.660 --> 00:05:53.280 The teacher is describing the totality of human existence. 00:05:53.780 --> 00:05:57.520 There are good times and there are bad times. 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:03.120 And we'd love it if this list was all positive stuff, wouldn't we? 00:06:03.180 --> 00:06:03.859 But it's not. 00:06:04.039 --> 00:06:09.259 There are times in life where we have to weep and not laugh. 00:06:09.259 --> 00:06:14.839 There are even times where it's appropriate to kill and not heal. 00:06:16.219 --> 00:06:18.579 There's a time for war, isn't there? 00:06:19.719 --> 00:06:24.319 During the Second World War, Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister, he got this wrong. 00:06:24.980 --> 00:06:30.139 He was trying to negotiate out of conflict, declaring that this was the time for peace. 00:06:30.719 --> 00:06:31.379 He was wrong. 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:32.500 It was a time for war. 00:06:32.959 --> 00:06:36.959 Which is why Winston Churchill was such a timely Prime Minister at that time. 00:06:36.959 --> 00:06:44.079 But it's not, if you look at the poem, it's not like a pendulum swing just between good and bad times. 00:06:44.899 --> 00:06:47.659 Some of these are neither good nor bad. 00:06:48.419 --> 00:06:49.759 Have a look at verse 5. 00:06:49.879 --> 00:06:51.359 I have no idea what this means. 00:06:51.740 --> 00:06:54.060 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them. 00:06:54.639 --> 00:06:55.899 It doesn't seem good or bad. 00:06:56.379 --> 00:06:57.620 A time to embrace. 00:06:58.099 --> 00:06:59.899 A time to refrain from embracing. 00:07:00.139 --> 00:07:02.459 Again, these are not kind of moral things. 00:07:02.459 --> 00:07:06.560 There's a time for keeping silent. 00:07:06.859 --> 00:07:07.419 Verse 7. 00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:10.500 Some of us need help discerning that. 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:12.659 There's also a time for speaking. 00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:16.120 Some of us also need help discerning that. 00:07:16.919 --> 00:07:19.240 But do you notice, these aren't moral choices. 00:07:19.379 --> 00:07:20.979 These aren't good or bad times. 00:07:21.060 --> 00:07:22.439 It's more ambiguous than that. 00:07:22.479 --> 00:07:25.560 Because not everything in life is black and white. 00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:28.319 The times that befall us, they can be good times. 00:07:28.620 --> 00:07:29.800 They can be bad times. 00:07:29.860 --> 00:07:30.660 Or they can be neither. 00:07:32.420 --> 00:07:35.180 There are times that are set in place. 00:07:37.100 --> 00:07:43.240 But we, the frustration is that we have no control over what these times will be. 00:07:43.420 --> 00:07:44.800 To an extent we do. 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:47.959 Like to an extent we're able to understand the times. 00:07:48.079 --> 00:07:51.240 Like we know not to dance at the funeral. 00:07:51.399 --> 00:07:53.340 We know that's a time for mourning. 00:07:53.339 --> 00:07:54.719 We can read it. 00:07:54.799 --> 00:07:56.000 We can understand that. 00:07:57.019 --> 00:08:03.739 But sometimes we are utterly helpless to understand what the timely thing to do is. 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:06.299 And we are utterly helpless to control it. 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:09.519 We can't say in this coming week. 00:08:10.419 --> 00:08:14.799 I'm going to have the vast majority of my days being a time to laugh and a time to dance. 00:08:14.939 --> 00:08:17.859 And I'll throw in a couple of minutes of weeping here and there. 00:08:17.939 --> 00:08:20.819 You know because I'm Scottish and I don't want to go too mad. 00:08:20.819 --> 00:08:25.000 And I'll have lots of hours of love and sometimes of embracing. 00:08:25.379 --> 00:08:27.339 And that will be what my week will be like. 00:08:28.379 --> 00:08:29.659 You don't get to choose. 00:08:30.659 --> 00:08:33.899 The times that we face are not in our control. 00:08:34.059 --> 00:08:35.960 But neither are they random. 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:37.220 Neither are they pointless. 00:08:38.840 --> 00:08:44.620 Do you know I think it's really interesting that the way the teacher describes this is in a poem. 00:08:44.620 --> 00:08:54.299 It's almost as if he's trying to convey that there is order and that there is beauty behind the messiness of life. 00:08:54.460 --> 00:08:57.100 There is a plan behind the times. 00:08:57.100 --> 00:09:00.920 I'm a bit of a movie buff. 00:09:01.139 --> 00:09:02.100 I don't know if you guys are. 00:09:02.980 --> 00:09:07.279 But I wonder if I was to ask you what you think the best time travel movie is. 00:09:07.920 --> 00:09:10.240 I think a few folks would say Back to the Future. 00:09:10.800 --> 00:09:15.399 But in my opinion the greatest time travel movie is Terminator 2, Judgment Day. 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:17.779 What a great film. 00:09:17.779 --> 00:09:24.199 But there's a famous quote in that film that kind of sums up our thinking about time. 00:09:24.899 --> 00:09:25.539 And it's this. 00:09:25.899 --> 00:09:29.819 There is no fate but what we make for ourselves. 00:09:30.539 --> 00:09:31.759 There is no purpose. 00:09:32.240 --> 00:09:33.360 There is no pattern. 00:09:33.959 --> 00:09:36.579 And it sums up the thought of our culture. 00:09:36.899 --> 00:09:40.600 All that happens to you is dependent upon you. 00:09:40.600 --> 00:09:46.300 Now if you really believe that, it would paralyze you with fear. 00:09:47.740 --> 00:09:52.759 Because if it's all dependent upon me and my choices, that's terrifying. 00:09:52.759 --> 00:09:57.779 Because there's stuff that happens that I am completely out of control on. 00:09:58.840 --> 00:10:01.500 And more often than not, I make daft choices. 00:10:03.180 --> 00:10:04.940 We are not God. 00:10:05.060 --> 00:10:10.500 We are not mini-gods constructing our own future, creating our own narrative. 00:10:10.600 --> 00:10:11.180 In life. 00:10:12.279 --> 00:10:13.259 Yes, there is order. 00:10:13.700 --> 00:10:14.600 Yes, there is purpose. 00:10:14.899 --> 00:10:16.540 But it does not come from us. 00:10:16.659 --> 00:10:18.800 It comes from the God who governs time. 00:10:19.040 --> 00:10:21.180 And that's what the teacher is about to tell us. 00:10:21.180 --> 00:10:26.940 You see, if all you had was just this poem, it would be utterly, utterly depressing. 00:10:28.180 --> 00:10:33.680 Because, verse 9, all the times we experience. 00:10:35.139 --> 00:10:37.379 And what does the worker gain from his toil? 00:10:38.139 --> 00:10:39.920 It's the big question in Ecclesiastes. 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:41.360 What gain is there? 00:10:43.159 --> 00:10:43.599 Answer? 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:44.479 Nothing. 00:10:45.599 --> 00:10:47.979 You go through a rollercoaster of ups and downs in life. 00:10:49.659 --> 00:10:52.699 And then you've got nothing to show at the end and there's no gain. 00:10:53.539 --> 00:10:56.959 Thankfully, though, the teacher does not just have that poem. 00:10:57.019 --> 00:10:59.899 Because he knows that there is more. 00:11:01.079 --> 00:11:02.279 And this is the second point. 00:11:02.500 --> 00:11:05.620 That there is a God who governs all of time. 00:11:05.819 --> 00:11:06.980 Have a look at verse 10. 00:11:06.980 --> 00:11:10.500 I have seen the burden that God has laid on the human race. 00:11:10.659 --> 00:11:13.220 He has made everything beautiful in its time. 00:11:13.480 --> 00:11:15.980 He has also set eternity in the human heart. 00:11:16.220 --> 00:11:21.560 Yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 00:11:21.559 --> 00:11:24.639 And do you see what the teacher is saying there? 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:31.839 God will make everything beautiful in its time. 00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:34.379 So all that befalls us. 00:11:34.379 --> 00:11:36.320 All that befalls this world. 00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:44.680 All these times are being orchestrated by the great maestro of time into one big beautiful symphony. 00:11:45.680 --> 00:11:47.460 But we can't see it. 00:11:47.899 --> 00:11:48.360 Can we? 00:11:50.040 --> 00:11:53.139 We can't see how this is working out. 00:11:53.139 --> 00:11:58.379 How does something like cancer fit into verse 11? 00:11:59.100 --> 00:12:04.139 How do times of weeping and of war and of killing fit into that verse? 00:12:05.720 --> 00:12:09.840 And I know you guys are going through stuff at the moment that you're suffering. 00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:14.179 And this is maybe a time for mourning here at Brunsfield Evangelical Church. 00:12:14.279 --> 00:12:17.179 So how on earth does that fit into verse 11? 00:12:17.179 --> 00:12:21.219 The answer is we don't know. 00:12:22.479 --> 00:12:24.139 And we're not meant to know. 00:12:25.819 --> 00:12:29.719 The teacher would say that you're a fool if you think you can work it out. 00:12:30.059 --> 00:12:34.879 Part of the frustration of humanity is that we can't work it out. 00:12:35.739 --> 00:12:41.199 As he says in verse 11, we cannot find out what God is doing from beginning to end. 00:12:41.339 --> 00:12:43.120 We can't see the big picture. 00:12:43.479 --> 00:12:45.679 We lack the perspective. 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:52.299 We lack the longevity to understand what God is doing with all these times that befall us. 00:12:53.439 --> 00:12:54.259 And that's frustrating. 00:12:54.519 --> 00:12:57.099 It's frustrating not just because we want to know. 00:12:57.419 --> 00:13:02.419 It's frustrating because deep within all our hearts is set eternity. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:07.459 We are eternal beings made in God's image. 00:13:07.839 --> 00:13:09.879 We are not made to die. 00:13:10.659 --> 00:13:13.819 Death came into this world as a result of sin and rebellion. 00:13:13.820 --> 00:13:17.920 It was not part of the world that God declared to be good. 00:13:18.040 --> 00:13:22.020 We are not made to be slaves to the tyranny of time. 00:13:22.980 --> 00:13:24.879 And every one of us knows it. 00:13:25.080 --> 00:13:28.540 That's why in every single culture across the world, 00:13:29.040 --> 00:13:32.520 there is some concept of life after death. 00:13:32.519 --> 00:13:36.679 Because God has implanted eternity in us. 00:13:36.679 --> 00:13:41.519 That eternal longing, that question of what happens after we're gone. 00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:45.399 It's in all people, even if some people suppress it. 00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:51.720 And by the way, just as an aside, that means that if you're here as a Christian and you're wanting to share the gospel with someone, 00:13:51.899 --> 00:13:55.059 you need to realize you've got a really good ally in evangelism. 00:13:55.059 --> 00:13:58.179 Because eternity is in every human heart. 00:13:58.579 --> 00:13:59.879 Even if people suppress it. 00:14:00.119 --> 00:14:04.419 As C.S. Lewis said, you never meet someone who's just a mere mortal. 00:14:05.339 --> 00:14:06.599 We are eternal beings. 00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:08.839 We are not made to die. 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:10.859 There is purpose. 00:14:11.059 --> 00:14:13.099 There is meaning that we can't see it. 00:14:13.299 --> 00:14:17.279 And everything that we have, it seems to be just a breath. 00:14:17.279 --> 00:14:26.419 Now look, to be a Christian is to know that there is a purpose, that there is a master plan. 00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:31.360 And by the grace of the Lord Jesus, we know what the end of that plan is. 00:14:32.379 --> 00:14:36.779 But that doesn't mean that if you follow Jesus, everything will be hunky-dory. 00:14:37.319 --> 00:14:38.639 We don't need to convince you of that. 00:14:39.819 --> 00:14:46.720 Knowing there is a purpose to what happens to us does not mean that we know the details of how that purpose will work out. 00:14:48.279 --> 00:14:51.639 And so we feel this frustration in the church. 00:14:53.919 --> 00:14:55.319 We want to know why. 00:14:56.319 --> 00:15:00.419 And we want to see how anything good or beautiful could come out of this. 00:15:01.220 --> 00:15:03.000 And here's where we've got to be careful. 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:08.039 You see, we would like there to be a system. 00:15:08.679 --> 00:15:14.220 What I mean by that, we would like there to be a way of governing the world that we would like done. 00:15:14.220 --> 00:15:21.500 And if God doesn't fall into our system, we get angry or annoyed or we feel let down by him. 00:15:23.500 --> 00:15:25.980 But that does not let God be God. 00:15:26.920 --> 00:15:31.379 Part of what Ecclesiastes wants to do is to help you let God be God. 00:15:32.379 --> 00:15:36.000 That's us trying to be God, coming up with how we think God should operate. 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:39.580 And then we get frustrated when God does not play by our rules. 00:15:40.980 --> 00:15:45.820 And do you know, one of the things that I have learned in studying the wisdom literature of the Bible, 00:15:46.179 --> 00:15:51.600 in Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, one of the big things I've learned in studying these wisdom books 00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:56.179 is that there is great wisdom and there is great freedom in saying, 00:15:56.179 --> 00:15:57.459 I don't know. 00:15:59.039 --> 00:15:59.899 I don't know. 00:16:01.219 --> 00:16:02.959 I don't know why you've done this. 00:16:03.019 --> 00:16:04.620 I don't know why this had to happen. 00:16:04.899 --> 00:16:06.500 This is the problem in the book of Job. 00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:10.739 Job's comforters, they have a system on how the world should operate, don't they? 00:16:10.739 --> 00:16:13.399 Good people receive blessings from God. 00:16:13.659 --> 00:16:17.099 Bad people receive punishment from God. 00:16:17.100 --> 00:16:24.060 But Job, the perfect, innocent sufferer, smashes that system apart. 00:16:24.360 --> 00:16:28.680 And they simply cannot believe that God would have caused that to happen to Job. 00:16:28.899 --> 00:16:31.000 He doesn't fit into their mold. 00:16:31.300 --> 00:16:36.000 The wild, untamable God of the Scripture does not fit their system. 00:16:37.940 --> 00:16:44.379 And so we get frustrated with verse 11 because we can't see how on earth God could make these times beautiful. 00:16:44.379 --> 00:16:48.539 It doesn't fit with us and it's not meant to. 00:16:49.419 --> 00:16:50.419 You are not God. 00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:55.279 The teacher knows that what God will do eventually, 00:16:56.000 --> 00:17:00.100 but he's frustrated because he can't see how he's doing it. 00:17:00.460 --> 00:17:02.939 You may have heard the illustration, but it's worth repeating. 00:17:03.799 --> 00:17:05.339 Time is like a tapestry. 00:17:05.819 --> 00:17:10.319 And from our under the sun perspective, which the teacher is using throughout this book, 00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:14.480 we can catch the fleeting glimpse of the back of the tapestry. 00:17:14.639 --> 00:17:20.279 And if you've ever seen the back of a tapestry, it's all messy and frayed and it seems random and chaotic. 00:17:22.179 --> 00:17:27.200 But there is one on the other side of the tapestry, on the other side of time, 00:17:27.579 --> 00:17:32.700 who's weaving it together into one big beautiful picture. 00:17:32.700 --> 00:17:37.840 We can't see it because we are in time and yet he is not. 00:17:38.180 --> 00:17:40.019 And so we have to learn to fear him. 00:17:40.259 --> 00:17:42.120 We have to learn to trust him. 00:17:42.340 --> 00:17:44.039 We need to let God be God. 00:17:44.299 --> 00:17:47.819 And we know that we are doing that in life because when the times are good, 00:17:48.019 --> 00:17:52.740 as verse 13 says, when we find satisfaction in our toil, then we thank God. 00:17:52.860 --> 00:17:57.319 We acknowledge that is a gift from God that I'm enjoying. 00:17:57.319 --> 00:18:03.819 But when we face bad times, we throw ourselves onto God's sovereignty. 00:18:04.259 --> 00:18:06.359 Everything he does endures forever. 00:18:06.819 --> 00:18:11.539 God acts so that people will fear him, so that they will revere him. 00:18:13.939 --> 00:18:16.539 And so please see this, brothers and sisters. 00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:21.559 God will not tell you all the reasons behind what he does. 00:18:21.559 --> 00:18:31.480 And it is not cruel or unkind for God to remind you that you are not the boss of your life. 00:18:33.220 --> 00:18:37.539 We might want to cry out why, and there's lots of people in Scripture that do, 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:40.839 but perhaps the deeper question we need to cry out is who. 00:18:41.679 --> 00:18:46.980 Who is the God who governs a world in which stuff like this can happen? 00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:50.960 Who is he and can I trust him? 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:57.359 And in order to trust him, we need information from above the sun. 00:18:57.480 --> 00:19:00.839 Simple observation of this world is not enough. 00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:04.899 What has he told me that shows me that I can trust him? 00:19:05.159 --> 00:19:10.059 And you know, God in his kindness, he hasn't left us stumbling about in the dark. 00:19:10.500 --> 00:19:14.980 Yes, there are some things that are hidden, but he's also revealed stuff to us. 00:19:15.099 --> 00:19:17.559 As Deuteronomy 29.29 says, 00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:22.339 The hidden things belong to the Lord, but the things revealed belong to us. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:27.639 Trusting him doesn't mean being completely ignorant of what he is doing. 00:19:28.119 --> 00:19:30.519 Everything will be beautiful, he tells us. 00:19:30.519 --> 00:19:38.379 And in his grace, we have the privilege of seeing something of this great plan more than what the teacher saw. 00:19:38.380 --> 00:19:44.840 In fact, the apostle Peter tells us that the prophets of the Old Testament, the prophets and kings, 00:19:45.380 --> 00:19:49.840 people like the teacher, longed to know what we know today. 00:19:49.839 --> 00:19:58.059 Because at just the right time in human history, something hugely significant happened, 00:19:58.439 --> 00:20:02.339 which helped us see something of God's great master plan. 00:20:02.639 --> 00:20:04.079 Galatians 4 verse 4. 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:23.939 If you follow Jesus, you won't know why God allows certain things to happen to you. 00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:26.759 But here's what you can know for certain. 00:20:26.759 --> 00:20:33.160 You are forgiven, you are redeemed, you are loved like God's own precious adopted child. 00:20:34.779 --> 00:20:37.879 Because Jesus came at just the right time. 00:20:38.180 --> 00:20:40.099 Jesus died, Jesus saved you. 00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:47.720 And the plan of the universe is that God will have his people living free from sin under King Jesus' rule. 00:20:47.980 --> 00:20:49.339 That's the beautiful picture. 00:20:49.720 --> 00:20:50.779 That's what will happen. 00:20:50.779 --> 00:20:58.740 And one day, when we are with Jesus, I believe we will be able to look back on our life. 00:21:00.019 --> 00:21:07.299 And maybe then we'll be able to say, oh yes, it had to happen that way. 00:21:09.339 --> 00:21:10.980 And now it's so beautiful. 00:21:12.359 --> 00:21:16.420 Verse 15 says that God will call the past into account. 00:21:17.000 --> 00:21:19.740 It's like he's taken it back, the past that we have forgotten. 00:21:19.740 --> 00:21:19.839 It's not forgotten. 00:21:20.299 --> 00:21:21.720 It's not forgotten to him. 00:21:21.819 --> 00:21:24.019 He takes it back to himself. 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:28.779 And he's using it to weave it into something amazing. 00:21:29.120 --> 00:21:38.160 As Paul tells the Corinthians, this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. 00:21:40.099 --> 00:21:43.880 And so the teacher is trying to free us from the prison of self. 00:21:44.079 --> 00:21:48.180 And cause us to throw ourselves onto the everlasting arms of God. 00:21:48.180 --> 00:21:55.440 And this ultimately is how the teacher knows that it's not all pointless because of this third point. 00:21:56.440 --> 00:21:59.360 There will be a judgment at the end of time. 00:21:59.880 --> 00:22:01.320 There's a pattern to time. 00:22:01.539 --> 00:22:03.080 There's a God who governs time. 00:22:03.420 --> 00:22:05.680 And there will be a judgment at the end of time. 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:07.160 Have a look at verse 16. 00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:09.320 And I saw something else under the sun. 00:22:09.400 --> 00:22:11.580 In the place of judgment, wickedness was there. 00:22:11.840 --> 00:22:14.080 In the place of justice, wickedness was there. 00:22:14.700 --> 00:22:19.120 I said to myself, God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked. 00:22:19.560 --> 00:22:21.820 For there will be a time for every activity. 00:22:22.320 --> 00:22:24.500 A time to judge every deed. 00:22:25.220 --> 00:22:32.160 You see, there can only ever really be purpose and meaning to time if there is judgment at the end of time. 00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:35.519 At the end, we will know. 00:22:36.300 --> 00:22:37.840 No one got away with anything. 00:22:39.600 --> 00:22:41.660 Jimmy Savile did not get away with it. 00:22:41.840 --> 00:22:46.060 His past will be brought back to him as he stands before the judgment seat of Christ. 00:22:46.420 --> 00:22:48.860 Every deed will be brought into judgment. 00:22:49.120 --> 00:22:51.300 It's one of the big themes in Ecclesiastes. 00:22:52.019 --> 00:22:57.140 With all the uncertainties in our life, there is one big certainty and that is judgment. 00:22:57.440 --> 00:22:58.759 In fact, that's how the book ends. 00:22:58.820 --> 00:22:59.920 It's the parting words. 00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:02.860 Every deed will be brought into judgment. 00:23:04.580 --> 00:23:07.600 You see, if there is no judgment, there is no meaning. 00:23:07.740 --> 00:23:12.759 Because judgment implies that there are things that are objectively wrong and objectively right. 00:23:13.060 --> 00:23:17.279 And God will make sure that these things are accounted for. 00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:21.700 And so the teacher knows there has to be a time for judgment. 00:23:22.220 --> 00:23:22.960 There has to be. 00:23:23.360 --> 00:23:26.940 The big problem he struggles with is he can't see when that will happen. 00:23:26.940 --> 00:23:34.160 Because when he looks out at the world under the sun, he sees wickedness prospering with no judgment, with no consequences. 00:23:35.460 --> 00:23:42.180 And when he looks at the human race, he sees that our time is short and that we all just end up dying. 00:23:43.480 --> 00:23:44.600 Have a look at verse 18. 00:23:44.599 --> 00:23:51.279 I also said to myself, as for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. 00:23:51.839 --> 00:23:54.699 Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals. 00:23:55.079 --> 00:23:57.259 The same fate awaits them both. 00:23:57.519 --> 00:23:59.500 As one dies, so dies the other. 00:24:00.219 --> 00:24:01.359 All have the same breath. 00:24:01.779 --> 00:24:04.299 Humans have no advantage over animals. 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:06.719 Everything is meaningless. 00:24:06.919 --> 00:24:09.240 A better translation is everything is a breath. 00:24:09.240 --> 00:24:11.059 All go to the same place. 00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:12.460 All come from dust. 00:24:12.779 --> 00:24:14.220 And to dust all return. 00:24:14.660 --> 00:24:21.200 Who knows if the human spirit rises upwards and if the spirit of the animal goes down to the earth. 00:24:21.559 --> 00:24:26.980 So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work because that is their lot. 00:24:27.220 --> 00:24:31.460 For who can bring them to see what will happen after them? 00:24:31.460 --> 00:24:34.400 Now do you see the tension? 00:24:35.299 --> 00:24:42.740 If you were to look down a microscope, biologically, there is no difference between a human being and an animal. 00:24:43.640 --> 00:24:44.880 We all go to dust. 00:24:46.340 --> 00:24:50.079 But if you look into your heart, you see eternity. 00:24:51.819 --> 00:24:59.120 And people who say that we are just beasts are suppressing that eternity that God has placed in us all. 00:24:59.119 --> 00:25:05.419 And so if we are eternal, if there is eternity, there must be a judgment in eternity. 00:25:05.619 --> 00:25:08.539 A time where everything will be accounted for. 00:25:08.659 --> 00:25:11.339 Eternity makes sense of right and wrong. 00:25:12.019 --> 00:25:17.119 As Dostoevsky said, if there is no immortality of the soul, then everything would be permitted. 00:25:18.279 --> 00:25:20.819 But the teacher believes in judgment. 00:25:22.399 --> 00:25:26.719 And yet, he can't quite work out how it's going to work out. 00:25:26.720 --> 00:25:30.319 His under-the-sun perspective is fuzzy. 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:33.319 Yes, God will bring judgment. 00:25:33.720 --> 00:25:35.180 Yes, we have eternity in our hearts. 00:25:35.339 --> 00:25:36.880 But we still die like animals. 00:25:38.200 --> 00:25:40.120 And he doesn't know how that fits together. 00:25:41.440 --> 00:25:43.620 And so he concludes with the great question. 00:25:43.880 --> 00:25:48.880 The question that most of our friends and family and most people out there will have. 00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:53.660 Who can tell us what will happen after we are gone? 00:25:56.100 --> 00:25:58.360 No one under the sun. 00:25:59.320 --> 00:26:03.000 But my brothers and sisters, there was one above the sun who can. 00:26:03.360 --> 00:26:05.440 One who has existed outside of time. 00:26:06.020 --> 00:26:06.500 He came. 00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:08.620 He died for our sins. 00:26:09.360 --> 00:26:12.240 And on the third day, he rose again. 00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:14.519 Who can tell us? 00:26:15.599 --> 00:26:20.700 Only the one who has passed through death's dark valley can tell us. 00:26:21.079 --> 00:26:24.579 Jesus is the death conqueror as we've been singing about. 00:26:25.700 --> 00:26:30.920 And he affirms, yes, there is an eternal judgment. 00:26:32.319 --> 00:26:37.640 And yes, every single one of us here, every single one who has ever existed in human history, 00:26:37.940 --> 00:26:40.900 will stand before the judgment seat of God. 00:26:40.900 --> 00:26:47.140 And the past will be brought back to us because God will not let anything slide. 00:26:47.519 --> 00:26:48.360 There is a judgment. 00:26:49.120 --> 00:26:52.180 And the kicker is that all of us deserve to be judged. 00:26:54.140 --> 00:27:00.340 But Jesus came for the very reason to save us from that judgment that we deserve. 00:27:01.240 --> 00:27:07.340 To take our penalty and to bring us an everlasting peace and joy that we don't deserve. 00:27:07.339 --> 00:27:11.980 And so we know what the teacher couldn't quite see. 00:27:12.299 --> 00:27:12.839 Don't you see? 00:27:12.899 --> 00:27:14.579 It's the question that haunts us all. 00:27:14.959 --> 00:27:16.779 What will happen after we're gone? 00:27:17.319 --> 00:27:22.059 God in his grace has shown us through Jesus what the answer is. 00:27:22.759 --> 00:27:26.839 And so that releases a great burden of not knowing. 00:27:28.399 --> 00:27:30.980 That's a real burden wrestling with that question. 00:27:30.980 --> 00:27:40.059 With all the confusion that we face in life, there is certainty that we have as Christians. 00:27:41.259 --> 00:27:43.860 With all the messiness, there is a rock. 00:27:43.980 --> 00:27:46.079 There is certainty that we can hold on to. 00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:50.500 A certainty that comes through Jesus. 00:27:50.500 --> 00:27:52.460 The certainty of forgiveness. 00:27:52.920 --> 00:27:54.599 The certainty of reconciliation. 00:27:55.160 --> 00:27:58.680 The certainty of eternal joy instead of judgment. 00:27:58.980 --> 00:28:03.819 A certainty cemented in the blood of Jesus that was shed for us. 00:28:04.180 --> 00:28:07.940 And so I know some of you here are confused and hurting. 00:28:08.359 --> 00:28:11.200 Maybe with stuff that's going on in your own personal life. 00:28:12.559 --> 00:28:15.859 Or with what's happened to you as a church family. 00:28:15.859 --> 00:28:20.379 But what we need to do more than anything. 00:28:21.779 --> 00:28:24.399 And we've got all the questions and the confusion. 00:28:24.559 --> 00:28:26.939 And the questions that we will probably never get answers to. 00:28:27.139 --> 00:28:31.199 What we need to do is hold on to therefore what we know to be certain. 00:28:33.179 --> 00:28:35.119 Let's not look to our feeble selves. 00:28:35.799 --> 00:28:37.279 Let's acknowledge our limitations. 00:28:37.779 --> 00:28:40.399 Let's acknowledge how out of control of time we are. 00:28:40.719 --> 00:28:43.399 Let's gather now around the Lord's table. 00:28:43.400 --> 00:28:49.860 And remember the only thing that really can give hope in hopeless situations. 00:28:50.720 --> 00:28:51.360 The cross. 00:28:53.300 --> 00:28:56.519 Jesus has told us what will happen after we're gone. 00:28:57.120 --> 00:28:58.759 Jesus has died to show us. 00:28:59.519 --> 00:29:00.560 To make us certain. 00:29:02.060 --> 00:29:03.900 That we will be forgiven. 00:29:04.480 --> 00:29:07.519 So we can know with all certainty and with joy. 00:29:08.140 --> 00:29:09.180 That we will be with him. 00:29:11.320 --> 00:29:12.120 Let me pray. 00:29:13.400 --> 00:29:14.759 Father. 00:29:16.019 --> 00:29:18.480 Time is confusing. 00:29:19.560 --> 00:29:20.080 Frustrating. 00:29:21.040 --> 00:29:22.620 Seems to pass us by. 00:29:23.940 --> 00:29:26.940 It frustrates us because there are things that happen in our lifetime. 00:29:27.820 --> 00:29:29.060 That we didn't want. 00:29:29.160 --> 00:29:29.860 That we didn't plan. 00:29:31.460 --> 00:29:33.259 And yet often these things remind us. 00:29:33.680 --> 00:29:34.320 How frail. 00:29:34.700 --> 00:29:35.800 And out of control. 00:29:36.480 --> 00:29:36.860 We are. 00:29:36.859 --> 00:29:39.819 These things remind us that. 00:29:40.299 --> 00:29:41.599 We must not be. 00:29:42.819 --> 00:29:44.240 Trying to be God. 00:29:45.019 --> 00:29:47.740 Controlling the outcome of what we think should happen to us. 00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:48.179 But we. 00:29:48.419 --> 00:29:49.799 We must remember that. 00:29:50.139 --> 00:29:50.719 We are sinners. 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:53.199 That we are frail. 00:29:53.399 --> 00:29:54.159 That we are finite. 00:29:54.160 --> 00:29:56.680 And we must do so. 00:29:56.759 --> 00:29:58.220 So that we can learn to trust you. 00:29:58.279 --> 00:29:59.259 And let you be God. 00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:01.800 All the times. 00:30:02.140 --> 00:30:02.600 That happen. 00:30:03.080 --> 00:30:03.540 To us. 00:30:04.340 --> 00:30:05.759 Help us to trust in you. 00:30:05.900 --> 00:30:06.000 The. 00:30:06.320 --> 00:30:08.220 The author of time. 00:30:08.880 --> 00:30:11.580 The one who is weaving it into a beautiful picture. 00:30:12.120 --> 00:30:12.840 Help us to. 00:30:12.839 --> 00:30:16.039 Get real about the fact that. 00:30:16.679 --> 00:30:19.019 We are going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 00:30:19.559 --> 00:30:19.939 And father. 00:30:20.079 --> 00:30:20.419 May that. 00:30:20.899 --> 00:30:22.019 Not lead us to despair. 00:30:22.179 --> 00:30:23.839 For we do not need to fear judgment. 00:30:25.119 --> 00:30:26.740 May it lead us to appreciate. 00:30:27.259 --> 00:30:28.659 What Jesus has done for us. 00:30:28.720 --> 00:30:30.199 To free us from that judgment. 00:30:31.579 --> 00:30:34.099 May it motivate us to tell others about him. 00:30:34.679 --> 00:30:36.159 There is an end to time. 00:30:36.639 --> 00:30:38.259 There is a judgment at the end of time. 00:30:39.519 --> 00:30:40.199 And father. 00:30:40.339 --> 00:30:40.819 We want. 00:30:41.699 --> 00:30:42.740 People to be. 00:30:43.419 --> 00:30:43.899 Saved. 00:30:44.220 --> 00:30:45.159 By your grace. 00:30:46.319 --> 00:30:48.319 Help us to have your heart for the lost. 00:30:48.439 --> 00:30:50.599 Help us to share this great gospel with them. 00:30:50.959 --> 00:30:53.059 So that they can know the freedom and the joy. 00:30:53.419 --> 00:30:55.119 So that they can have the burden lifted. 00:30:55.480 --> 00:30:56.299 From their shoulders. 00:30:56.419 --> 00:30:58.519 Of not knowing what will happen after they are gone. 00:31:00.399 --> 00:31:00.839 Father. 00:31:00.919 --> 00:31:01.720 Help us to be. 00:31:02.579 --> 00:31:03.019 Wise. 00:31:04.240 --> 00:31:05.919 To look at the scope of time. 00:31:06.759 --> 00:31:08.519 To look at all the uncertainties. 00:31:08.980 --> 00:31:11.099 And to hold on to the one constant. 00:31:11.459 --> 00:31:12.019 Which is you. 00:31:12.839 --> 00:31:13.919 And the one certainty. 00:31:13.919 --> 00:31:13.939 And the one certainty. 00:31:14.619 --> 00:31:15.599 Which is Jesus. 00:31:15.859 --> 00:31:17.379 And his death on the cross for us. 00:31:17.679 --> 00:31:19.179 Help us now to remember that. 00:31:19.319 --> 00:31:21.059 As we gather around your table. 00:31:21.539 --> 00:31:22.419 In Jesus name. 00:31:22.799 --> 00:31:23.099 Amen. 00:31:23.099 --> 00:31:23.179 Amen. 00:31:23.179 --> 00:31:23.240 Amen. 00:31:23.240 --> 00:31:23.259 Amen. 00:31:23.259 --> 00:31:23.279 Amen. 00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:23.339 Amen. 00:31:23.339 --> 00:31:23.399 Amen. 00:31:23.400 --> 00:31:34.240 Amen. 00:31:34.240 --> 00:31:34.460 Amen. 00:31:34.460 --> 00:31:35.040 Amen. 00:31:35.040 --> 00:31:35.300 Amen. 00:31:35.380 --> 00:31:35.540 Amen. 00:31:35.600 --> 00:31:35.740 Amen. 00:31:35.740 --> 00:31:36.040 Amen. 00:31:36.140 --> 00:31:36.320 Amen. 00:31:36.320 --> 00:31:37.120 Amen. 00:31:37.180 --> 00:31:37.280 Amen. 00:31:37.740 --> 00:31:38.300 Amen. 00:31:38.300 --> 00:31:38.740 Amen. 00:31:38.740 --> 00:31:38.800 Amen. 00:31:38.800 --> 00:31:39.100 Amen. 00:31:39.120 --> 00:31:39.180 Amen. 00:31:40.240 --> 00:31:40.280 Amen. 00:31:40.320 --> 00:31:40.820 Amen. 00:31:40.820 --> 00:31:41.660 Amen. 00:31:41.820 --> 00:31:42.080 Amen. 00:31:42.080 --> 00:31:42.160 Amen. 00:31:42.160 --> 00:31:43.000 Amen. 00:31:43.019 --> 00:31:43.100 Amen. 00:31:43.480 --> 00:31:44.780 Amen. 00:31:44.780 --> 00:31:45.280 Amen. 00:31:45.440 --> 00:31:46.380 Amen. 00:31:46.380 --> 00:31:47.540 Amen. 00:31:47.540 --> 00:31:47.900 Amen. 00:31:47.960 --> 00:31:48.340 Amen. 00:31:48.340 --> 00:31:49.019 Amen. 00:31:49.019 --> 00:31:49.380 Amen. 00:31:49.380 --> 00:31:49.780 Amen. 00:31:49.780 --> 00:31:49.980 Amen. 00:31:50.060 --> 00:31:50.519 Amen.